Ganakshi has invested a decent amount in the stock market. As the market crashes, she is faced with a potent threat of losing her funds. She is now looking at her resources to make up for the loss. According to Lazarus’s cognitive theory of stress, Ganakshi is at which stage of cognitive appraisal?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Secondary
Option (1) Transactional — Incorrect. Lazarus does describe stress as a process in which individuals transact with their social and cultural environment, but ‘transactional’ describes this whole view of stress. It is not a stage of appraisal.
Option (2) Primary — Incorrect. Primary appraisal is the perception of a new or changing event as positive, neutral or negative, and of a negative event as harm, threat or challenge. Ganakshi has already seen the crash as a threat; she has moved past this step.
Option (3) Secondary — Correct. Once an event is seen as stressful, a person makes a secondary appraisal: the assessment of one’s coping abilities and resources and whether they will be enough to meet the harm, threat or challenge. Ganakshi ‘is now looking at her resources to make up for the loss’, which is this assessment.
Option (4) Tertiary — Incorrect. Lazarus distinguished only two types of appraisal, primary and secondary; there is no third stage.
NCERT (2025-26): “Nature of Stress … Lazarus has distinguished between two types of appraisal, i.e. primary and secondary. Primary appraisal refers to the perception of a new or changing environment as positive, neutral or negative in its consequences. Negative events are appraised for their possible harm, threat or challenge. Harm is the assessment of the damage that has already been done by an event. Threat is the assessment of possible future damage that may be brought about by the event. Challenge appraisals are associated with more confident expectations of the ability to cope with the stressful event, the potential to overcome and even profit from the event. When we perceive an event as stressful, we are likely to make a secondary appraisal, which is the assessment of one’s coping abilities and resources and whether they will be sufficient to meet the harm, threat or challenge of the event. These resources may be mental, physical, personal or social.…” |